Upside Down Mountain

Upside Down Mountain is the sixth solo studio album by American musician Conor Oberst, released on May 19, 2014, through Nonesuch Records.[1]

Upside Down Mountain
Studio album by
Conor Oberst
ReleasedMay 19, 2014 (2014-05-19)
GenreAmericana, folk rock, indie rock
Length54:17
LabelNonesuch
ProducerJonathan Wilson and Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst chronology
Outer South
(2009)		 Upside Down Mountain
(2014)		 Ruminations
(2016)

The record, according to Oberst, is a return to an earlier style of his songwriting. He explains that the album is about language:

“It’s more intimate or personal, if you will. Even if all my songs come from the same place, you make different aesthetic decisions along the way. For me, language is a huge part of why I make music. I’m not the greatest guitar player or piano player—I’m not the greatest singer, either—but I feel if I can come up with melodies I like that are fused with poetry I’m proud of, then that’s what I bring to the table. That’s why I’m able to do this.”[2]

Recording

Oberst and Jonathan Wilson began recording exploratory demos at Wilson's Fivestar Studios in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Oberst continued recording in his native Omaha, Nebraska with Andy LeMaster at ARC Studios in late 2013. Oberst then rejoined with Wilson to continue recording at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

Promotion

In support of the album, Oberst toured with Dawes in the spring and summer of 2014. Dawes was also the band backing Oberst during his performances on the tour.[2][3]

On May 19, 2014, Oberst performed "Zigzagging Toward the Light" with Dawes on The Tonight Show.[4]

Release

Upside Down Mountain was released on May 19, 2014, through Nonesuch Records and is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download.[1]

On May 11, 2014, the entire album was made available to stream online through NPR's First Listen website.[5]

Packaging

The cover art is a painting by Oberst's friend Ian Felice entitled The Creation of the Bulls.[2]

Reception

Critical
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk95%[7]
AllMusic[8]
Consequence of SoundB[3]
Rolling Stone[9]

Upside Down Mountain received largely positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, they assign a "weighted average" rating out of 100 to selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, and the album has received an Metascore of a 75, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[6]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone rated the album four out of five stars, dubbing it "a sumptuous immersion in Seventies California folk pop...the most immediately charming album he has ever made."[9] At The New York Times, Jon Pareles gave a positive review of the album, stating that Oberst's "new songs are focused and aphoristic, earnestly reflecting on life without getting too precious."[10] In addition, Pareles writes that Oberst's "empathy, his unassumingly natural melodies, the quavery sincerity in his voice, the plain-spoken but telling lyrics that he’s now careful to deliver clearly."[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars, calling it "a conscious step toward maturation, both in its studio sculpture - Oberst has never spent so much time laboring over arrangements as he does here - and compositional construction."[8]

Commercial performance

Upside Down Mountain debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 11,000 copies in its first week. It also debuted at No. 6 on the Top Rock Albums chart and No. 1 on the Folk Albums chart. It marks Oberst's first No. 1 on the Folk Albums chart.[11] The album has sold 39,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.[12]

Track listing

All songs written by Conor Oberst[13]

No.TitleLength
1."Time Forgot"4:34
2."Zigzagging Toward the Light"4:03
3."Hundreds of Ways"4:28
4."Artifact #1"4:23
5."Lonely at the Top"3:45
6."Enola Gay"2:22
7."Double Life"3:56
8."Kick"3:39
9."Night at Lake Unknown"4:15
10."You Are Your Mother's Child"3:49
11."Governor's Ball"4:18
12."Desert Island Questionnaire"5:41
13."Common Knowledge"4:59
Total length:54:17

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 54
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 154
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 88
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 54
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 64
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 55
US Billboard 200[21] 19
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[22] 6
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[23] 13
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 6
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[25] 1

Personnel

Credits adapted from Nonesuch Records:[13]

  • Conor Oberst, voice (1-13), guitar (1-13)
  • Jonathan Wilson, guitars (1-3, 5-9, 11, 12), percussion (1-3, 7, 8, 11), keyboards (1-3, 7, 8, 12, 13), bass (2, 3, 7, 12), drums (2, 3, 7, 11, 12), voice (2, 3, 11), piano (7), organ (7), glockenspiel (12)
  • Andy LeMaster, bass (1), guitar (1, 7), voice (6, 7), percussion (7), drums (7), keyboards (12), backup vocals (3, 13, 14)
  • Cully Symington, drums (1, 5-8), percussion (1, 5-8)
  • Klara Söderberg, Johanna Söderberg, voice (1, 3, 8, 9, 11)
  • Joshua Grange, pedal steel (3, 5, 9)
  • Nate Walcott, trumpet (3, 11), piano (6, 11), organ (11), keyboard (11, 12)
  • Scott Vicroy, saxophone (3, 11)
  • Pete Madsen, trombone (3, 11)
  • Blake Mills - guitars (4), keyboards (4), percussion (4), voice (4)
  • Macey Taylor, bass (5, 6, 8, 9, 11)
  • Orenda Fink, voice (6)
  • Ben Brodin, vibraphone (9)
  • Leslie Fagan, flute (9)
  • John Klinghammer, clarinet (9)
  • Mike Mogis, pedal steel (11)
  • Corina Figueroa Escamilla, voice (11, 12)
  • Jason Boesel, drums (12)
  • Omar Velasco, guitar (12)
  • Corina Figureoa-Esamilla and Phillip Schaffart - additional backup vocals (3)

References
  1. "Amazon.com - Upside Down Mountain - Music".
  2. "Conor Oberst's New Album, "Upside Down Mountain," Due May 19, Available to Pre-Order; Download Two Tracks Now". Nonesuch Records. 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  3. Cosores, Philip (May 19, 2014). "Album Review- Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  4. "Watch: Conor Oberst Performs "Zigzagging Toward the Light" on "The Tonight Show," Gives Last.fm Session". Nonesuch Records. 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  5. Tom Moon (2014-05-11). "First Listen: Conor Oberst, 'Upside Down Mountain'". NPR. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  6. Metacritic. "Critic Reviews for Upside Down Mountain". CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  7. Doherty, Kelly (May 18, 2014). "Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain - Album Review". Absolute Punk. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  8. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Upside Down Mountain - Conor Oberst". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  9. Fricke, David. "Conor Oberst 'Upside Down Mountain' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. June 5, 2014 (1210): 70. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  10. Pareles, Jon (May 19, 2014). "New Releases From Conor Oberst and Brantley Gilbert". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  11. White, Emily (May 29, 2014). "Coldplay Collects Third No. 1 On Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  12. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016.
  13. "Upside Down Mountain - Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  14. "Austriancharts.at – Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain" (in German). Hung Medien.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain" (in French). Hung Medien.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  18. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain". Hung Medien.
  20. "Conor Oberst | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  21. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  22. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  23. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard.
  24. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  25. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
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